Mission Direct - Volunteers helping the world's poor

It's strange to think that you are still in Europe. It's such a poor and backward country; it really is more like the Third World. There were all these dilapidated buildings. At one point I saw an old car that clearly didn't work any more and was now being pulled by a horse. That rather summed it up for me!

A lot of the locals were suspicious of us at first. What were we doing over there? You have to remember that it has been a communist country for decades, so they were either suspicious or just plain curious to know why on earth we would want to come over and do this work?

The church, on the other hand, was wonderful - they were hospitable and generous. And everybody had a wonderful, dry sense of humour. They really appreciated that we had come to help them with their mission.

They are reaching out to locals who have next to nothing. They were distributing food, giving them a community centre so people could meet together and talk. Church leaders went into people's homes to pray with them. So many people just wanted some hope.

The church is really being 'salt and light'. They had really rolled up their sleeves and got involved in the community - It was a privilege to lend them a hand.

They enjoyed helping with the building work. They really liked the fact that they were doing something physical - they could see the difference they were making to the church and the community, which meant a lot to them. When they came back, the girls in particular were calling the trip 'life changing'. Most of them want to go again next year.

This is for anyone who isn't afraid of hard work, and would like to get stuck into a building or restoration project. Also if you want to be open about your faith with people who know very little about God there are some great opportunities. A lot of people rely on drink to cope with their lives but they are often really interested when you tell them that Christ can make a difference. They don't want lots of empty promises, but they do desperately want hope.